Let's Don't Wait til the Water Runs Dry: Benefits of Water

*Boys II Men

Ok so water is the greatest. Seeing as how it makes up between 45 and 75 percent of the human body, depending on body fat percentage, it's a very important part of our diet. We lose approximately 1.5 liters through urination everyday, plus an additional liter from breathing, sweating, and bowel movements. Even more if you exercise. To keep your body functioning properly, it's necessary to replenish the lost fluid.

Water is an important part of every system in your body. It flushes toxins out of vital organs, and carries nutrients to cells, helping to prevent disease. It also provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues. It acts as a lubricant, helps protect joints, regulates body temperature and regulates metabolism, and keeps the digestive system functioning properly. But to do all these things, there must be enough in your system.

Hydration is also the key to weight-loss. Drinking water is one of the best weapons you have in the Battle of the Bulge, and here's why. The main job of your liver is to metabolize fat. Basically, to turn stored fat into energy. Unfortunately, if you're dehydrated, the liver has to also help the kidneys do their job. When this happens, the liver can't metabolize as much fat as it would otherwise, and you end up keeping the excess.

So, how much should you drink? There are several slightly different recommendations. There's the replacement method, that suggests two liters to replace the 2.5, mentioned above, that we lose daily. The other 20% comes from food. There's the 8x8 rule: eight 8-ounce glasses a day. Some say eight to ten glasses, plus another glass for every 25 pounds you are overweight. And the Institute of Medicine suggests that men drink three liters (about 13 cups) and women 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) a day.

Another way to calculate how much water you should drink daily, that I like because it's more custom to your body, is this. Take your weight in pounds and divide it in half. That number is how many ounces of water you should drink a day. For example, if you weigh 140 pounds, half your body weight is 70 pounds. So you would drink 70 ounces of water a day. Even though all of these methods are roughly the same, this one's my favorite. It's easy and fit for the individual.

Now, when you first start drinking all this water, you're going to experience the unpleasant sensation of having to urinate all the time. This is because your body is ridding itself of all the water that has been stored to keep your body functioning when you weren't getting enough. Just like starvation. When you don't eat enough, your metabolism slows down and you start to store fat. Your body goes into survival mode. So it is with dehydration. And once you start drinking enough, your body will flush out all the old, stored up water.

Don't get discouraged, thinking that it's not working. This need to live in the bathroom will go away, and your body will start to function a lot better. This is called the breakthrough point.

Whether your goal is to lose weight or just get healthier, water is one of the best and easiest changes to your diet. Carry some around with you, and you'll be hydrated in no time. Here are some other interesting facts:

• 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. (Likely applies to half world population)


• In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.


• Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%.


• One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a U-Washington study.


• Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.


• Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.


• A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page.


• Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

Note: Millions of people all over the world don't have access to clean, safe, drinkable water. The nonprofit organization Charity Water is working to change that. A donation of $20 to this organization will provide 20 years of good water for one person. 100% of donations go to direct costs of freshwater projects. Find out more at http://www.charitywater.org/.

"Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." -John 4:13

"Water is the lifeblood of our bodies, our economy, our nation and our well-being." -Stephen Johnson

"A man from the west will fight over three things: water, women and gold, and usually in that order." -Barry Goldwater